Despite a professed desire to move on to other things, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima says he still feels pressured to continue working on the series.
Since wrapping up Metal Gear Solid 4 Kojima has expressed an interest in collaborating with Western developers, noting recently that the marketplaces in the U.S. and Europe are “far better balanced” than that of the far more insular Japan. He also recently went on a tour of Western studios and suggested that he might be open to the idea of expanding Kojima Productions to include a U.S. operation.
But in an interview with Develop, the famed designer admitted that despite his other interests, he feels “absolute pressure” to stick with his most famous creation. “Maybe if I quit Konami that pressure might be a bit better, but since Konami handles the business side of our operations, yeah, there’s definitely a demand continue a series as successful as Metal Gear.”
While Kojima said he’d “love to” work with some of the Western studios he visited on his tour, he also seemed uncertain about the idea of handing the franchise over to anyone else. “I think that Metal Gear, well, that’s…” he continued, before pausing to consider his words. “I think that what you might expect from a Metal Gear might only be possible from Kojima Productions, rather than leaving it to an outside studio to produce a satisfactory product. But, then again, if I got an offer saying a company wanted to do it, maybe!”
